What makes a healthy diet has been a very controversial topic amongst most people lately. It is an extremely nuanced topic that most certainly varies depending upon the individual and their given lifestyle. With that in mind, from a general perspective, let’s break it down into simple terms. If the food you eat came from the ground (vegetables), fell from a tree (fruits), or once had eyeballs (meats), it is likely that it is good for you. Eating minimally / non-processed foods certainly fits within the confines of the mentioned tactic to identify the foods we should aim to eat. Next, let’s talk about how the plate should look on the table. From Myplate.org, the organization of the plate can be seen in the image below. The breakdown of this is that more than half of the plate should be composed of fruits and vegetables. About a quarter of it should be grains, with the other quarter composed of protein. Now, while each plate may vary in what it is composed of from meal to meal, each day one should look to consume 1.5-2 cups of fruits, and 2-3 cups of vegetables. Along with that, everyone should aim to consume around a minimum of 0.8g/kg of body weight of protein, per day. Continuing, the aim should be to keep the daily fat intake below about 80g per day. Lastly, carbohydrates can fill the rest of the caloric needs for the day. This can be tedious and is best accomplished with proper planning, usually before the week starts, or the day before. The breakdown of the calories we consume per day will always vary, but the idea is to break it into percentages that should look like so:
Protein (4cal/g): 10-35% of daily calories
Carbohydrates (4cal/): 45-65% of daily calories
Fat (9cal/g): 20-35% of daily calories